The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's national transport safety investigator. The ATSB's function is to improve safety and public confidence in the aviation, marine and rail modes of transport. The ATSB is Australia's prime agency for the independent investigation of civil aviation, rail and maritime accidents, incidents and safety deficiencies.

Marine safety investigations & reports

Collision between Maresk Tapah and the fv Nimbus

In the afternoon of 26 November 1996, the Australian fishing
vessel Nimbus was on passage from Cairns to Thursday
Island in company with the fishing vessel Anniki, after
both vessels had completed a refit. Each vessel was towing a string
of aluminium dories or dinghies in line astern - Nimbus
was towing five. The Singapore flag bulk carrier Maersk
Tapah was on passage from Gladstone to India with a full cargo
of coal. The navigation was under the control of a licensed
pilot.

Both vessels were making for a point to the east of Low Isles,
about 30 miles north of Cairns. At about 1522, while Maersk
Tapah was overtaking Nimbus the two vessels collided.
Nimbus sustained damage to its bow and wooden hull. Nobody
was hurt and no pollution resulted from the collision.

The Pilot on Maersk Tapah ensured that Nimbus
required no assistance and the two vessels exchanged details.
Maersk Tapah continued on its voyage to India and
Nimbus resumed passage for Thursday Island.

Conclusion

These conclusions identify the different factors contributing to
the collision between Maersk Tapah and Nimbus and
should not be read as apportioning liability or blame to any
particular individual or organisation.

The factors leading to the collision centre on the watchkeeping
aboard both vessels and the disregard of the International
Regulations for preventing Collisions at Sea.

Neither the Pilot or Second Mate of Maersk Tapah made
a full appraisal of the overtaking situation and risk of collision;
their use of objective means to assess whether or not the bearing
of the fishing vessel was appreciably changing was not
effective.

Maersk Tapah's Pilot accepted an unnecessarily close
quarter situation in the overtaking manoeuvre, resulting in contact
between the two vessels.

With Maersk Tapah's automatic radar plotting aid
giving inconsistent data for the vessels being overtaken, the
Second Mate did not use compass bearings to establish whether the
bearings of the vessels being overtaken were altering
appreciably.

Maersk Tapah's Second Mate having voiced a concern
about the overtaking situation did not inform the Master of his
concern.

The lack of a lookout or any proper watchkeeping aboard
Nimbus meant that the Skipper was not in a position to
take action within the requirements of the Collision Regulations to
take any necessary avoiding manoeuvre.